A new ileal pouch salvage technique.

Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis has become the procedure of choice for the surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis. Fistulas originating from the ileal pouch are uncommon but serious complications, sometimes leading to failure of the operation. We describe a technique to treat and salvage a pouch involved in a chronic fistulating ileal J-pouch-anal anastomosis by disconnecting the pouch, turning it inside out after repair, and reanastomosing it to the dentate line.